Fortuna

In 1996, Public Good Project uncovered legal papers linking Fortuna Alliance (previously Whole Earth Alliance) to the Constitutionalist movement. The resultant action by the Federal Trade Commission was the largest ever taken involving fraud on the Internet. The white supremacist Christian Patriot pyramid scheme, at the time it was closed down by the feds, was raking it in from gullible New Agers, who thought they were building a “new world economy”.

By the time Fortuna founder Augustine Delgado finished fleecing his American, Australian and Canadian members for “a good cause” “dedicated to empowering people”, the “visionary” con man was making half a million a day. When the feds lost Delgado’s trail in Antigua, it was estimated he’d made off with between five and ten million dollars.

In 2016, the new “new world economy” (aka “New Economy”) pyramid scheme to pick the pockets of national treasuries worldwide is a bit more sophisticated than the one peddled by Augie Delgado twenty years earlier, which is not surprising given this newer New Age con is being promoted by Bill Gates. Given the scope of the magical Divest-Invest Shell Game that Gates and friends have in mind, ten million isn’t even walking around money.

As with Delgado’s Fortuna scam, Gates’ New Economy scheme has attracted lots of credulous followers, who, when confronted with their fantasies by more sober observers, become infuriated. Now, as then, it isn’t considered polite to “be negative” about what makes other people happy. One difference between Delgado’s plan and that of Gates, however, is that while Delgado was pursued for fraud by the feds, Gates is aided and abetted by the White House.